21st Century Hogwarts, (2010-17) DISCONTINUED
by mischiefmanaged1970s
Summary: Follow Melody Hawkind and Chloe Mallaby, two muggleborns, though their Hogwarts years (2010-2017)
1. Chapter 1

Melody Hawkins was perched uneasily on the edge of her seat in the second to last carriage of the Hogwarts Express. The scarlet steam train reminded her of the model village she so often visited with her parents and her little brother, Charlie. Charlie, being only seven years of age, accepted the concept of magic without hesitation, a gift which seems to dwindle and disappear as children grow. While all of her friends had slowly forgotten about the magic they used to feel so close to, Melody had never given up on the idea. It had always seemed so real to the eleven year old. Even when the girl tried to replace the concept of magic with reason, she felt the whispers of the air around her abuzz with magical energy, and the enchanting tug in her chest which told her to never stop believing.

At first, Melody had believed her Hogwarts letter to be a cruel joke - a reason to laugh at the girl who still believed in magic. That was until a stern faced woman with bottle green robes and dark grey hair scraped back in a tight knit bun appeared at the door. Her lips were drawn in a tight line, but subtle creases in the corners of her fierce emerald eyes allowed for her admiration of humour and jokes to shine though.

The woman, though it was clear was getting on in years, was not one to get in the bad side of. That was clear from the first glance. She had an authority about her, an invisible force which made the young girl unable to even comprehend the idea of back to this lady. The woman had knocked at the door and introduced herself as Minerva (or Professor) McGonagall, headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, entered the house (much to the surprise of Mr and Mrs Hawkins) and explained to the family all about the wizarding world, the two wizarding wars the second of which had ended in 1998, (the year she was born), muggles and Hogwarts itself (including a show of a couple of spells as evidence for the muggle family).

Directions to Diagon Alley were given, and a train ticket for Platform 9 3/4 was placed in the young witch's hand with instructions on how to enter the platform, then the Headmistress plucked her bottle green poined hat off the coat hanger and marched from the house, leaving the family of four with their mouths hanging open.

The eleven year old girl remembered this encounter as she stared absentmindedly at the book in her hands, A Standard Book of Spells: Grade 1. She had skimmed through the book with interest after becoming acquainted with it in Diagonal Alley with the hope that she could make up for her muggle heritage with a little previous knowledge of the speels she would be learning that year. Her chocolate brown hair was messily plaited into two braids which reached an inch or so below her shoulders. Her soft blue eyes saw double as she focused on her thoughts rather than the page in front of her. The girl had never fitted in, always being lightheartedly teased by her friends for believing in magic. She always laughed it off, but it hurt deep down. Now, in the place where she should have found her people, she was still the odd one out, being a muggleborn. Her beliefs about magic had only been confirmed a few weeks prior to today, and now Melody was being sent off to boarding school to learn more about it, hidden in a sea of witches amd wizards who had grown up with magic surrounding them, never knowing any different.

Melody had decided to wait in her compartment until the train filled up. If no one came to join her then she would try to find someone herself. The Headmistress had told her that many people make their first, and often closest, friends on the train in their first year. Melody did not want to lose that opportunity. She sighed as she ran her fingertips over some old markings engraved by the window. It was clear that they had been magically engraved due to the delicate font, each line carved a few years later than the last. It read:

I solemnly swear I am up to no good, 1971

RL, PP, SB, JP

Messrs Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs

Mischief Managed, 1978

It wasn't long before a girl with long, dirty blonde hair complete with a small plait on one side appeared at the compartment door. 'Hi. Um... is it ok if I join you?', the girl asked hesitantly, her brow furrowing in concern.

'Sure! Of course! Come in!' Melody replied, glad to have found someone to share the journey with. 'Is it your first year here too?' the brunette asked, packing her book back into her rucksack.

'Yeah' the other girl smiled with relief. 'Everyone seems to know each other... It's quite scary not knowing what's going on. Oh! I'm Chloe by the way' she smiled, her warm brown eyes softening as she gained confidence.

'I'm Melody' the other girl responded with a smile. Chloe seemed to have a peaceful happiness about her that made it hard for Melody not to relax into conversation. It was as if she glowed an aurora of free spirit and lightheartedness; she was one of those people who never seem to have an ounce of bitterness towards the world and made all those in her presence smile too.

As the train jolted and the engine began to rumble, Melody's already pale face seemed to pale even more in anticipation, mimicking the look of a ghost. 'Are you a muggle born?' she asked after controlling her butterflies, explaining her reasoning as Chloe nodded, looking surprised. 'I am too. The headmistress came soon after my letter was delivered to explain everything about the wizarding world to us. She said that pureblooded wizards tended to know lots of people at the school because many do them are related to each other. Even the half-bloods are bound to know at least someone at Hogwarts through their magical parent'

'She visited me too!' exclaimed Chloe, her eyes wide with the excitement of being able to share the experience. 'She told us about the wars and... What was his name... Vol-something... The Hitler of the wizarding world...' However, her thought process was cut off by a loud bang a few compartments down. Both girls jumped to their feet, eager to see what the cause of the noise was. A couple of heads were sticking out of compartment windows. Some were glancing at the floor in distain, shaking their heads and muttering something about 'bloody first years' before retreating back into their cavern, while others were chuckling at the sight of the two boys rolling around the floor of the corridor in hysterics. Melody frowned in confusion with a hint of amusement evident on her face as Chloe grinned when they saw what what happening. Two eleven year old boys were rolling on the floor, laughing hysterically, clutching their stomachs was they wiped tears from their eyes.

'Would you please keep it down out there?' came the cry of an older girl. 'We have three essays to compete for tomorrow and this really isn't helping my concentration!' The two boys took a few deep breaths in an attempt to control their laughter and searched frantically for a compartment to escape to. They spotted Chloe and Melody turning back into their carriage and decided they were their best shot. Tapping on the glass of the compartment door, the boys looked pleadingly at the girls. Melody opened the door to let them in, her narrowing eyes attempting to read the situation.

The shorter boy was equipped with dirty blond hair and blue-green eyes, a mischievous smile forming on his lips. He seemed daunted by the brown haired girl's studying gaze and answered the question she obviously wanted to know. 'We set dungsbombs off in his bag. It stunk the whole carriage out!' Both he and the other boy (who sported a dark complexion and a head of shoulder length dreadlocks) were chuckling quietly, although their laughter slowly disappeared when the saw the look of confusion on the girls' faces. Melody and Chloe glanced at each other and shrugged.

'Oh, come on! It's worth more than just a shrug!' Piped up the boy with dreads, vaguely offended by the apparent lack of amusement of the girls.

'No! That's not what we meant! It's just, we don't know what dungbombs are. We're both muggleborn' explained Chloe.

A wide grin spread across both of the boys' faces. 'You're both muggleborn?' Repeated the blond boy in a stupour as the two girls nodded. 'Sorry, it's just I've never met any muggleborns our age before. My parents have a few muggleborn friends but they're all old... Well, a dungbomb is basically what it says it is - a bomb that releases a big puff of dung when it goes off. It smells awful...' He continued excitedly.

The brunette girl looked a little grossed out, but the boys could detect a glimmer of a smile beneath the grimace. 'And who's bag exactly did you set these off in?' Melody asked, a little amused. 'And why? We've only been on the train an hour or so! What could have made you dislike this boy so much in an hour?'

'He's a Slytherin' the taller boy exclaimed simply as if that would explain everything. 'Well, he will be anyway. Alcor Norbek's entire family have been Slytherins. His sister's going into third year now. I think their family's close with the Goyle's'.

'Slytherin's one of the four houses, right?' questioned Chloe. 'What's wrong with being in Slytherin?'

Both of the boys' jaws dropped in exasperation. 'What's wrong with Slytherin...' The blond boy sighed dramatically. 'Well, for starters their pricks. They do anything they can to make our lives misery-'

It was Melody's turn to cut in this time, 'Our lives? What do you mean?'

'Gryffindors' lives', the boy replied.

'But we haven't been sorted yet. How do you know you'll be in Gryffindor?'

'Both our fathers were, and their fathers before that. I'm Michael Wood by the way and this is Drake Jordan' said the blonde boy, realising they hadn't been introduced.

'I'm Melody Hawkins'

'Chloe Mallaby'

'But just because your family were Gryffindor it doesn't necessarily mean you will be, right? And what else has Slytherin done that's so awful?' Melody continued.

Drake answered darkly, 'well there was Voldemort and his Death Eaters. Voldemort was a Slytherin back in his day, and almost all of his followers were too. But there wasn't one Gryffindor who fought on his side' he finished with pride.

Michael looked at him with a furrowed brow. 'What about Pettigrew? He was a Gryffindor. If it wasn't for him the Order could have beaten Voldy first time round.'

'He wasn't a real Gryffindor. Otherwise he would have had the courage to fight with the Order rather than being frightened into betraying them.'

Michael seemed to take this as a good enough answer and turned back to the girls who were discussing what the boys had just said and were attempting to make sense of it. Once they both seemed satisfied with their conclusion, Chloe directed Michael and Drake, 'but surely not all Slytherins can be evil. Just because someone values ambition, cunning and intelligence' she said, counting off the traits she could remember on her fingers 'it doesn't make them awful people, or necessarily pureblooded' she added as an afterthought.

'They also value traditionalism. That's why it's the house with the most purebloods' answered Michael easily. 'Don't get me wrong, we don't have anything against purebloods, in fact, we're both pureblooded ourself. We're just against purebloods who think that anyone with a lower blood status than themselves is inferior-'

'-Which Slytherins do' finished Drake.

'I still don't think it's right to judge an entire house based on what some of them are like' ventured Chloe. Her confidence in her statement forced the boys to think deeply about her words. 'I'm sure there are many muggleborns in Slytherin-'

'And it can't be anywhere near as awful as it used to be during the wars. The Headmistress told us that people don't care in the slightest what your blood status is anymore, and those who do keep it to themselves' Chloe commented.

The boys were watching, wide-eyes as the girls pinpointed their mistakes. With their eyes already bulging out of their heads, it was a surprise to see that they could grow even more when Melody proposed, 'I think you should go back and apologise to that poor Norbek person.' Chloe stifled a laugh at the looks on the boys' faces, before Melody continued, a mischievous grin forming. 'I mean, if he does something to you then obviously you have every right to torture him with as many dungbombs as possible, but until then maybe you should work on making friends, not enemies.'

And with that the two girls ushered the boys out of the compartment and down the corridor to reconcile with Alcor Norbek, a long-limbed, hollow-cheeked, black haired boy who smelled rather potently of manure.

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	2. Chapter 2

Melody and Chloe were shuffled off the large red steam train by the mass of students. They peered curiously over the shoulders of the older boys and girls who were heading towards one end of the platform. They began to follow, pushed by the crowd, when they heard a loud gruff voice. 'Firs' years over 'ere! Firs' years come with me!'

'Wow,' Chloe muttered under her breath. Melody looked up, her jaw dropping to the floor. A huge man with a head of hair big enough to compete with a lion's mane was smiling down at them, holding a lantern in one hand. His jacket seemed to be home to over one hundred pockets, and he seemed to make a tinkling noise every time he moved, like wind chimes.

The giant of a man looked around at the gaggle of children that surrounded him, all watching him with wide eyes. Once he was certain that everyone was there, he introduced himself. 'I'm Hagrid, keeper o' the keys and grounds at 'Ogwarts' he squared his shoulders with this announcement before continuing. 'Follow me'.

The girls scurried along behind the bobbing lantern, wrapping their new black cloaks around them to shield from the cool evening breeze. The group reached the edge of a huge lake. Bobbing on its shore were 20 or so wooden boats, each decked out with two planks, one on each side facing into the centre. A lantern, not dissimilar to Hagrid's was carried proudly on the front of each one.

'Righ' now, no more 'n four to a boat!' Came Hagrid's voice, reaching even the furthest ears. The eleven year olds all started clinging to their new friends' arms and pulling them to a boat, a few here or there frowning in worry as spaces began filling up. Melody and Chloe were no exception to this. Chloe clung on tightly to Melody's wrist and dragged her through the crowd to find Michael and Drake. They all ushered each other into the closest boat and arranged themselves on the pews.

'Ooh! They're really comfortable!' exclaimed Melody in surprise. She lounged back in her seat, releasing a satisfied 'ahhh' as a grin pulled at the corners of her lips, earning a chuckle from the other three.

'It's probably a cushioning charm,' said Michael knowledgeably. 'My dad says he owes whoever invented it big time, being on the Gryffindor Quidditch team for six years'.

'Quidditch?' Questioned Melody.

'On another note,' interrupted Drake before Michael could begin his hour long essay on the sport, 'does anyone know how to row?'. A quick glance at each worried young face suggested the that the answer might be 'no'.

Chloe piped up 'I've been on a pedallo loads of times...' At the boys' confused looks she explained the contraption. 'It's a muggle thing' she concluded.

However, their fretting was cut short as all the boats began to move in unison. After about fifteen minutes, they slowed. Gasps could be heard from all the children as the gigantic castle came into view. It's magnificent turrets were silhouetted against the orange of the setting sun. The goalhoops of the Quidditch pitch towered 50 feet in the air. The forest in the distance looked black and menacing, as if the forest itself were one huge creature, each little section an organ in the art of making a whole.

And yet all four eleven year olds smiled with genuine joy. The school which they had dreamed of was now a reality. Melody took in every last detail, soaking up the memory like a sponge. She was finally home.

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All of the first years were crammed into the entrance hall, jumping around and shifting from foot to foot, giddy with nerves and excitement. None of them had a clue as to how they were being sorted. Some had been told they had to sit a test and those who didn't get a high enough mark were sent back home. Others had been told that it was treacherously painful. It seemed to be an unspoken tradition of all students past and present that no one was to know how it really happened. There were a number of hushed whispers throughout the group, one of which Melody made out as 'I'm happy as long as I don't get Hufflepuff. They're just the stupid ones who don't fit anywhere else'. Melody frowned. She thought that Hufflepuff was the house that accepted people for who they were rather than trying to shape them to a set of ideals. They were meant to be the backbone of the school.

Just as Melody thought her nerves could not grow anymore, the stern woman who had visited her when she got her letter appeared at the top of the largest of the many staircases. Melody nudged Chloe's arm and jerked her head towards McGonagall. Chloe nodded in reply to show her recognition. It only took a few seconds for every head to be turned towards the lady.

'I am Professor McGonagall, headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. In a few moments I will walk you through these doors,' she said motioning beside her at a huge oak door, 'and you will begin your sorting. Your house will be like your family while you are here. You will share classes, a common room, and dormitories with your house. I ask you to wait in line until I call your name where you will come forward and sit in the stool in front of you. Once sorted you will go and sit at your house table. Follow me.'

The wide doors swung open as she finished talking, and McGonagall strode through with purpose. The was a moment of quiet scuffling as the first years near the front slyly shufflers backwards until someone was punched through first.

Melody looked around and realised the entire school was watching them as they entered. She felt eyes on her and prayed to any deity there may be that she wouldn't trip up and make a fool of herself. That was all that was in her mind until Chloe tapped her shoulder and directed her gaze at the ceiling, or what Melody supposed would be there. Above her, she saw the dimming light of the sun as the day drew to a close. Candles seemed to float, hovering above the house tables and bringing a warm, bright glow to what should have been a dark, cold room. 'I hope I don't get too much wax in my food' commented Drake who's eyes had followed Melody's gaze. While his voice sounded accusatory, his face told another story. His bright eyes were alert with awe and wonder, drinking in the sight as if he would never see it again.

Very suddenly, everyone stopped. McGonagall climbed the steps to the stage-like area which housed the staff table. A stool sat in front of a podium which the headmistress took residence behind, a very worn looking pointed hat sat upon the chair.

Melody, along with most of the first years jumped in shock as a loud and rather tuneful note emitted from a tear in the hat. The girl looked closer and realise that it was a mouth. Two smaller frays widened a little to form the look of eyes. It was a rather unnerving surprise to say the least. Melody realised the hat was singing and turned to see how Chloe took it. If a jaw low enough to hit the floor was anything to go on, Melody was say she was almost as surprised as she was. He suppressed a chuckle and turned her attention to the words that the hat was sprouting.

many years it's been.

Voldemort is vanquished, but what's that s'possed to mean?

An end to all the prejudice, the blood status hierarchy,

An end to all the hate filled comments; sly and mean and snarky.

All stereotypes must be erased if we are all to work as one.

It was disunity that caused the war, so for their house let us not others shun.

You may be sorted a Gryffindor, where prowl the brave and hearty.

Their chivalry and loyalty are important for the party.

Or maybe you're a Ravenclaw, where creativity is key.

Their innovation and knowledge exploration make it a wonderful place to be.

You could become a Hufflepuff, where everyone is valued.

They're hardworking, loyal, not one to judge, a place where your talents can be proved.

Or maybe you'll be in Slytherin, where you'll find those with ambition.

Their cunning plans are hard to beat, as is their intuition.

All houses have their downfalls but their merits are more important.

Don't be so quick to judge a house on what their predecessors did before them.

There was a moment of silence as people let the words of the Sorting Hat sink in, unsure whether to clap or not. An older boy on the Gryffindor table began the applause, quickly joined by the other houses. As the noise dies down, McGonagall called out the first name. The boy, (ABBOT, WILLIAM) made his way uncertainly to the rocket stool and sat uneasily on the edge of the seat. McGonagall picked up the hat and placed it on his head, much to Abbot's confusion (and the rest of the first years). The boy's eyes disappeared beneath the brim, and a couple of moments later, the hat shouted 'RAVENCLAW'. The headmistress removed the hat from his head as the Great Hall applauded, the greatest sound coming from his new house, respectively. As he sat down, the rims of his uniform became outlined in blue and bronze, and the Ravenclaw crest appeared on the front pocket of his robes.

As the names called out became increasingly closer to the letter 'H', Melody felt her pulse quicken and her stomach squirm. She braved a glance at Chloe who was looking rather pale. Melody would be the first to be sorted, followed by Blake, Chloe and then Michael. Despite being so sure of where they would be placed on the train, the boys both looked sick to their stomachs now.

'GORKIN, GABRIELLE' was sorted into Slytherin, and then 'HAWKINS, MELODY'. It took the girl a second to register that her name had been called, and Chloe gently nudged her forward, a smile on her face that Melody supposed was meant to be encouraging but looked more like a grimace. Melody focused on placing one food in front of the other and she lowered herself onto the stool, her toes only reaching the floor. The hat was placed over her head, obscuring most of her vision. She almost jumped up again in surprise when she heard a voice resonate through her skull. 'Hmm... You're a tricky one', it exclaimed.

'Who are you? Why didn't this happen for anyone else?' Melody thought.

'I'm the Sorting Hat of course!' The voice replied. 'Now, you have definitely have the courage to become a Gryffindor. You enjoy the feeling of adrenaline and you're not afraid to make your voice heard, especially if you find something unjust. Although that is also quite a Hufflepuff trait. Your loyalty is fierce, once again a trait of both houses. You clearly have a smart brain on those shoulders, and your creativity is admirable, as is important for a Ravenclaw. I see that you enjoy to use this intuition sometimes, however, to plan. This is where your cunning comes in, a Slytherin trait of yours.'

'So where are you putting me?' Asked Melody, getting impatient now. She was embarrassed to spend so much time in front of the entire school, not to mention she was slowing everything down. It wasn't really very fair for everyone else having to wait, and she didn't suppose it would make her at all popular.

'Ah, interesting. I see you don't enjoy being the centre of attention. That decreases your compatibility with Gryffindor. While you enjoy doing things that gets your blood pumping, you find rash moves rather irritating. You'd rather form a rough plan beforehand'.

'Well rule that one out then'.

'Other than your liking for the excitement that creating cunning plans provide you with, you do not share other traits with Slytherin, nor do you value them to such a high extent for me to sort you there'.

'Ok, so now we're left with-'

'-Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. As I have already said, you prefer to think things through before rushing in, and you have a mind that looks outside the box, looking for new and inventive ways to make something work. I could let you choose between the two houses?'

'I don't know enough about each one. Although I've been told about them on the train I'd rather judge them myself, maybe prove people wrong about some of the stereotypes'.

'While your mind seems to work in a very Ravenclaw manner, it is clear that you also suit the ideals of the other house, and you certainly value their traits with more respect. I hope you can let the school knock down those walls of stereotypes and lead them to pass judgement of each witch or wizard individually... HUFFLEPUFF' the hat screamed, making Melody jump a little at the sudden outburst.

Melody retreated down the steps quickly and made her way to the cheering Hufflepuff table, joining four first years who had already been sorted, Alice Fairweather, Dylan Evans, Harry Burks, Eloise Carp and Arthur Collings.

'Wow! That took ages!' exclaimed a boy with electric blue hair. He was sitting next to Dylan on the opposite side of the table to Melody. 'I'm Teddy Lupin, 2nd year'.

'Melody Hawkins' melody replied with a smile. 'The hat decided to go through every single house with reasons on how I would fit into each one. It was rather frustrating'

'For me it was between Hufflepuff and Gryffindor, like my parents. My mum was a Hufflepuff and my dad was in Gryffindor, a mighty Marauder' he said looking rather wistful. Melody chuckled though she was unsure of what he meant.

She turned her attention back to the sorting. Michael and Drake were both sorted into Gryffindor as they suspected, and the why barely touched Chloe's blonde head before calling her out as a 'HUFFLEPUFF'. The girls were both ecstatic to be placed together, and their excitement continued as huge piles of food magically appeared on the long tables in front of them. Everyone seemed to be piling their plates high, the energy from the food trolley leaving them. The new first year Hufflepuffs were greeted merrily by the Fat Friar, their house ghost.

'Ah, I see you met lovely Lupin here. A firm favourite of mine if I must say so myself. Did you know he's Harry Potter's godson?' Excited expressions pulled at the children's faces.

'Harry Potter? As in THE Harry Potter? The boy-who-lived?!' Asked Dylan, who was interrupted by Harry Burks' comment on his namesake.

'Yup, that's the one' replied Teddy, sounding rather bored at where the topic of the conversation had ended up. He glared at the Fat Friar. 'You know, that's not exactly what I want be known for. I'd rather have the privilege of making my own reputation rather than riding on Harry's. You'll have to wait for James for that. He uses it as a way to get anything he wants in the wizarding world. He'd have a right struggle living as a muggle' he snorted.

'James?' Questioned Chloe.

'Harry's oldest son, well, by blood. We grew up together in the same family. My parents both died in the Battle of Hogwarts the year I was born so I've always lived with Harry and Ginny. A few more years and James will be here too, then he can get all the attention. He loves it. Apparently he's very much like his namesakes in that way'.

McGonagall passed their table then, speaking in a very stern tone 'the day James Sirius Potter enters this school will be the day I retire. You know, I'm certain Harry Potter named him just to frighten me'. But Melody was sure she could detect a smirk in her voice. 'Imagine that,' she muttered to the Hufflepuff ghost, 'James Sirius and Mr Lupin all at Hogwarts again. It will be like the old days' she smiled nostalgically and continued on her journey out of the Great Hall.

Teddy explained the story of the Marauders to the new first years with the help of his second year friends. However, he left out the part about them being illegal animagi - that was knowledge that only the family had.

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The new fifth year Hufflepuff prefects directed the rather bloated Badgers down a couple of corridors and a shirt et of stairs to a pile of pyramid stacked barrels. They showed them the pattern needed to enter to the common room before tapping their wands on the barrels in the right order. 'The pattern changes on the first of every month. There will be a hidden message on the notice board showing the pattern so no one gets stuck outside' explained one of the prefects, Florence (Flo) Turner.

The common room was a big, cozy den. Meld it never thought that yellow could be an appealing colour, that being her only problem with Hufflepuff. Who would want to have to live in a sea of bright yellow for seven years? Somehow they managed to pull it off. A large, warm fireplace rested comfortably in the centre of one wall, it's warmth spreading throughout the room. It cast golden flickers on the walls. Large sofas circled the flames and beanbags scatters the floor. A couple of tables were placed near the opposite wall, practical but comfortable chairs placed around them so they were ideal for both homework and idle chit chat. A large black cylinder took residence in the centre of the room, although it's presence didn't seem imposing in the slightest. It seemed to be a bookshelf of sorts, sporting host to a collection of novels, class books, trophies and photographs. A couple of balls of light floated softly above their heads. A couple of boards were placed here and there along the edges of the room above a floating conveyor belt that ran the circumference of the room and back through a gap in one of the walls, carrying an assortment of snacks and drinks. Occasionally the belt would snake it's way towards one person in particular and they would grab a cookie as it passed them.

'We'll be around to talk, and you can also go to the sixth or seventh year prefects' continued Harrison Walker, the other perfect. 'There's a sheet up on the notice board with all our names and pictures, as well as the prefects from other houses and the Head Girl and Boy. One thing we pride ourselves on in Hufflepuff is our house unity. Therefore we do our best to make sure we all know each other, and that there aren't social barriers between year groups'

'So tomorrow evening at eight could everybody meet in the common room for our annual house meeting?' Flo smiled at the crowd of nodding heads. 'Everyone can go up to their dorms. First years, wait here and we'll show you to yours'. And with that Chloe dragged Melody to the side while all the older years made their way to two separate sets of stairs, the boys making their way up one and the girls filing up the other. Left in the centre of the room was Flo, Harrison, and a bunch of fascinated eleven year olds - nine girls and eight boys. 'We would like to meet you all down here at 8.30 tomorrow morning. It's a bit of a tradition for the first years to have their first breakfast together. You can ask us two all the questions you wish then'.

Harrison called 'Boys with me, girls with Flo'. The girls made their way up a set of suing, but somehow bright, winding stairs. However, the stairs seemed to move like an escalator, making their journey much quicker than it could have been. They passed six small landing in their way up before they reached theirs. Each landing had between one and three doors coming off it. The first floor was labeled 'second years', the second labeled 'third years' and so on until they reached the seventh floor labelled 'first years'.

'This is where the seventh years were last year. Every year the plaque will change to ready our current year group. At the moment you're above the seventh years, though there a silencing charm around each floor so no one gets too annoyed' she chuckled. 'Since there's nine of you, you are split into two dorms' she continued. 'The only thing you need to do is remember which dorm is yours. Most people know our common room is in the dungeons. What they don't realise is that our dorms are in a tower. We get the most amazing views. Now, Alice Fairweather, Melody Hawkins, Chloe Mallaby and Marina Woodstone, you four will be in this dorm' said Flo, gesturing to the door to her left, 'and Eloise Carp, Darcy Umbridge, Tara Wix, Summer Finnegan and Jasmine Wickett will be in this dorm' she continued, pointing to the door to her right. All of your suitcases et cetera is in there already. Now go pick your beds and make yourself comfortable. 8.30 tomorrow morning, don't forget!' And with that she wandered back down the twisting stairs. The girls all made their way to their rooms saying goodnight to one another and murmuring about what the next day would bring.

Melody and Chloe's room had four queen sized four poster beds arranged in a semicircle. Soft yellow drawings hung from it, currently tied to the corners. Under each bed was a large drawer, and beside each one was a small bedside table fit with a murky glass sphere. It looked as though it held one of those balls of light that was floating in the common room. Three large windows rested snugly in the gaps between the beds, a comfortable looking window seat placed under each one. Their view was breathtaking. The Lake lay beneath them, reflecting the many stars in the clear sky. Behind that was a view of the grounds, the so called Whomping Willow waving from where it stood. Slightly further back was residence to Hagrid's wooden cabin and the beginning of the Forbidden Forest. Every now and then, trees would ruffle and a flock of birds could be seen erupting from the canopy like a firework. A door to the large bathroom stood opposite the windows.

Melody sat down on the bed closest to the door, sighing as she sunk into the coziness bed she had ever been in. She always had to be closest to the door if there was more than one person in a room, a silly superstition Melody and always had. Chloe took the bed next to her, happy to be between two beds. The other two girls fought for the other middle bed, though Alice was crowned victorious. They all chucked, hauling their piled cases to their beds, releasing any pets from their travelling cages (Chloe and Alice had cats while Melody and Marina decided to buy an owl), and changing into their pyjamas and getting ready for bed. They chatted for about twenty minutes before their eyes betrayed them and they drifted softly into a deep sleep.


End file.
